The Cat is Out of The Bag
by petnurser
Summary: **WIP**Slip-ups may actually make their lives easier....(chapter 4 now done)
1. Chapter 1

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When: Late June 1987

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Summary: Slip-up's may actually make lives easier....

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Disclaimer: I never have.....never will own these guys; nor will I ever make any money off of them.

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Feedback: I appreciate constructive criticism. Flames burn me. I promise that I will finish soon.

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THE CAT IS OUT OF THE BAG.....PART 1

Amanda rolled over in her bed for what seemed like the thousandth time that night. This had to end soon. She did not get married to sleep in separate beds let alone different houses in different cities. Amanda Stetson missed her husband. She looked at the wedding set on her left hand and sighed; she would have to take it off again in the morning. They had managed to get in a "dinner date" about once a week and had spent just 3 weekends together since their wedding five months ago. Earlier this evening, dinner consisted of steaks, potatoes and a wonderful cabernet. "Dessert" was sweet and very intense. She dozed while her husband fell asleep and then turned over and watched his chest rise and fall with each restful breath. Then she dressed and left his apartment to sleep in her own cold bed. She had watched him sleep in the past and lately it seemed that he slept deeper and more peaceful than he had before. Too bad she couldn't say that about herself.

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Not far away from the white painted house on Maplewood Drive in Arlington, a man stirred in his sleep and woke up...alone. Damn, he had fallen asleep. She was gone. He really hated this. His gaze landed on his left hand to the gold band shining there, wishing he could keep it on. He did not get married to sleep in different beds in different cities. This secret marriage was the stupidest idea that he had ever had. He loved Amanda, more than he had ever thought possible. He had not come across anything about her that he didn't love. OK, there was that little fiasco with that list he had made. Dumb move, Stetson, really dumb move. They had almost had a fight over that one. But looking back, she knew that he was just trying to make the transition from singles to "marrieds" easier, he had just gone about it wrong. 

His thoughts wandered to earlier in the evening. Mmmmm... In his memory he could feel her soft body as he held her close. He could smell her scent. He could feel her hands on him. He could recall every detail, every nuance of making love to his wife. The problem was that he wanted to repeat the experience again and again. That was hard to do when she slept in a different city. This would have to end soon; he was tired of cold showers. Sleep for him was restless and when the alarm rang, he did not feel refreshed, but happily anticipated seeing her at work later on that morning.

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Mrs. Marsden smiled as Lee waltzed into the foyer of the IFF office building. The past year or so he had changed. There was lightness to his step and a smile in his eyes almost every day that she saw him. He casually took a single rose out of the bouquet that he carried and with a romantic flair handed it to the normally stoic Agency receptionist/gatekeeper as she handed him his ID. "Good morning, Mrs. Marsden. Is Amanda in yet?"

She smiled again and was just about to tell him, "Not yet" when the person who was on the receiving end of his affection breezed through the door. "Oh, Good morning, Lee, Mrs. Marsden. The word of the day is raindrop." Amanda smiled and said thank you when handed her badge and Lee and Amanda ascended the stairway to the Q-Bureau, scarcely looking at each other for fear of giving away too much. Mrs. Marsden smiled to herself and thought, 'That's why both of them are so happy lately.' She had seen the flash of gold on each of their left hands. She didn't know how long they had been married, but it certainly suited both of them.

With the door closed behind them, Lee placed the roses on his wife's desk and pulled her close to him. "Good morning. How is the best wife a man could ever have this morning?"

"Better now that we are together again," Amanda wearily replied. She still hadn't woken up fully from her fitful sleep. "The roses are lovely. Thank you. Where did you find a florist that's open this early?"

"My secret." He whispered and closed his mouth on hers. They kissed long and passionately. A knock on the door broke them out of the romantic reverie that they were both in.

Amanda reached for the door with her left hand. She looked at her husband with a look of alarm, she had forgotten to take off her rings. Lee then remembered that he was still wearing his ring, too and silently held up his left hand for her to see. There was nothing they could do except hope that the person at the door wouldn't notice.

Francine floated into the Film Library with some files. She distantly said her good mornings to the lovers and was in a world of her own and not really paying attention to Lee or Amanda until she saw a flash on Lee's hand. Suddenly, the files were on the floor and the normally cool Francine Desmond was flustered. "What...Who...When...How....Why??"

Lee looked at his wife, slightly amused to see Francine like this. He then turned to Francine and tried to answer her. "Yes, I am married....to Amanda...February 13th....the JP in Marion County...and why else do people get married, Francine? I love Amanda."

"Look, you are the first to find out and we would appreciate it if you didn't say anything, OK?" Lee continued. "We would like to tell Billy ourselves and the rest of our family doesn't know yet. Now, what did you come up here for?"

"Yeah, sure. I needed to put these files in the vault and, I guess, now, to offer my congratulations." Francine was fully recovered by now and wondering how to keep her mouth shut this time. Lee and Amanda were amazed that she recovered so quickly. Francine picked up the fallen files, put them on the to-be-filed pile in the vault, smiled at both of them and made her way out of the office.

She closed the door softly on her way out, together but still not quite believing that Scarecrow had married Amanda. As Francine made her way back to the bullpen, she smiled. It seemed strange, especially after all that she had put them through, but she felt genuinely happy for the couple and honestly wished them nothing but the best. This thought surprised her and she chuckled to herself, just in time to see Billy.

"Are Lee and Amanda in the Q-Bureau?" The frazzled Section Chief asked his assistant.

"They sure are, Billy. And they are together." She replied enigmatically. 

To be continued......................


	2. Chapter 2

"What do we do now?" Amanda asked her husband as Francine left the Q-bureau.

"What can we do? The cat is out of the bag now, Amanda." As Lee finished his reply, he took his wife in his arms and held her close. "Don't worry." He then lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. "We have each other and our family. That's what really matters."

Just before their lips met a knock was heard at the door of the Q-Bureau. Without waiting for an invitation, Billy opened it and stepped in.

"Sorry to intrude, but Dr. Smyth is on a tear for your delinquent reports, Scarecrow. Good Morning, Amanda."

"Good Morning, Sir," Amanda replied nervously, quickly separating from her love.

"Which reports does he want, Billy?" Lee said, running his left hand through his hair. They had turned everything in as far as he knew.

"Whatever is la..... Scarecrow, what is that?" William Melrose had noticed the flash of gold on Lee Stetson's hand. A closer look at Amanda's left hand revealed that her rings were a match for his. A huge smile began to spread across the boss' features.

"Well.....Ahhh..." Lee stammered, looking at his wife for support

"Well, Congratulations, it's about time you two. How long has it been?" The late reports were forgotten. They were on Billy's desk anyway, under many other reports.

"Remember the McMaster's case? California?" Billy nodded. "We got married right after wrapping up that case. California was supposed to be our honeymoon." Lee answered. 

"What a lousy way to start. I heard something once: unhappy honeymoon, happy marriage. I can't say that I am really surprised. I figured you two would get married, but I am disappointed that no one was invited. How did you manage to keep this a secret for what, 5 months now? I could never have done it. When Jeannie and I got married I wanted to shout from the roof tops. At night, when I wasn't on assignment, just to curl up together...." A smile slowly turned into a frown as some reality hit. "You don't live together, do you?"

Both Lee and Amanda looked at each other and simultaneously said, "No."

"Well, that explains a lot of things. There are those days when both of you look like hell and that I know that on the weekends you are at either one's home. How are you two doing it? Most married people don't sleep in separate beds, you know. And why didn't you tell anyone? You know that whatever is with you two is OK with me."

"Mr. Melrose, Lee and I have made some enemies and if our relationship were well known, our boys may be in danger." Amanda began. "Also, I've known Lee for over four years. Philip and Jamie have known him for less than a year. We think that they are finally comfortable with having Lee around. We were planning on announcing our 'engagement' this fall and having the 'wedding' on February 13th, our anniversary."

Just then the door opened. Dr. Austin Smyth held no love for Scarecrow and Amanda. "So, the Scarecrow has gone astray and married the housewife."

Lee became angry, "Don't you ever knock?" 

Dr. Smyth ignored his top field agent. "Partner fraternization is against the rules. I hope your resumes are polished kiddies. You're going to need them. I want your resignations within the hour. Oh, Congratulations." Dr. Smyth left as quickly as he came in, but as always, left the room a few degrees colder and with the lingering odor of his ever present cigarette.

Billy spoke first. Lee and Amanda didn't miss the anger in his voice. "I will handle Dr. Smyth. Why don't you two go home for the day and I'll see you on Monday, OK?"

"OK, Billy. Let us know how it comes out?" Lee replied.

"I will, now get..!!"

Billy got back to the bullpen to see Francine at her desk. She was slumped over mumbling, "I can't believe it, I just can't believe he really got married. I can't believe that he married Amanda." She seemed OK just a little while ago, delayed reaction maybe?? Well, he needed her help.

"DESMOND," Billy shouted. "My office, NOW!"

***

Lee decided to look on the bright side of this mess that they had created. He turned to his wife, "Dotty is out with Captain Kurt, Philip and Jamie are in school. What do you say we go home to your place and repeat last night." Although he had an innocent twinkle in his eyes that made Amanda laugh, she knew his twinkle was everything but innocent. 

"Well, there really isn't anything we can do here, and Billy did order us to go home, and we really didn't have enough time together last night....What are we waiting for?"

Mrs. Marsden took their ID's without question and smiled. It wasn't even 10:00. They were finally acting like the newly-weds they were.

***

They got to 4247 Maplewood Drive at the same time. She pulled the Wagoneer in the driveway first. In her mind, he would eventually head back to his apartment in DC. They couldn't keep their hands off each other once they got into the house. Amanda barely remembered to set the alarm clock, she certainly did not want the boys to find them in a position where they would have to answer a lot of questions. Dotty would be home shortly before the boys. Amanda and Lee had plenty of time to play husband and wife before anyone else was home.

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Dotty saw both cars in the driveway when Kurt dropped her off. Clouds were rolling in and he had to cancel their flying date. The house was quiet. She found the two sleeping in her bed in each other's arms. Dotty quietly closed the bedroom door thinking that it was about time that they got it together. However, Dotty knew that if Amanda knew that she had seen them, she would be very embarrassed. Oh well, the flowerbeds needed pruning and it wasn't supposed to rain until tonight.

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At 2:00 the alarm rang. She stretched, smiled and looked down at her husband. He opened his eyes and smiled back. They kissed again, allowing it to almost get too far. "Lee," Amanda said breathlessly, "we have to get up.... the boys."

Lee groaned, "You're right." He threw the cover back and said, "Amanda, did we bother to close the door?"

"Oh my gosh, Mother. She must have come home early." Her voice was panicked.

"Honey, don't worry about it. We're both adults and I can't believe that your mother believes that you get all those weekend and late night assignments. I love you." Lee's voice was tender and husky.

"I love you, too."

The lovers dressed and went out to face her mother.....

To be continued........


	3. Chapter 3

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"Francine, snap out of it." Billy said. "I need your help."

"I can't believe it, Billy. Lee is really married. Amanda I can see, it's in her blood or something. But Lee...."

"Can it, will you. Dr. Smyth has demanded their resignations and we need to prevent it. I will not lose two of my best agents because they got married, even if they didn't tell anyone." Billy roared.

Although they were in Billy's office, the bellows carried and soon Lee and Amanda's marriage was the talk of the agency. Billy didn't care who heard him. He was about to lose two of the best that he had... two of the best that had ever been. They weren't going down without a fight.

"I need to get a list of all the agents that got married when still an agent. I want case records pre and post wedding, when they left Agency service and why. I especially want the records of any agents that were married to their partner, or even agents from other agencies."

"This is going to take a while, Billy. When do you want it by?" Francine asked.

"As soon as possible, Francine. As soon as possible."

***

Amanda was so nervous; she almost spilled the coffee she was pouring. It wasn't like there was anything to be embarrassed about. Making love to your spouse was a normal, healthy part of any marriage. The hard part was that her mother didn't know that they were married. Oh my gosh! Amanda felt like a teenager that got caught kissing her boyfriend at Lookout Point. She tried to calm down, but her _mother_ had caught her nude, and in bed with a man that Dotty didn't know was Amanda's husband. She just wanted to climb into a hole and hide. She chuckled at the thought of that just as a pair of strong arms enfolded her.

"What's so funny?" Lee asked, his eyes bright with happiness, after all, their charade was over.

"Just thinking of how much I want to crawl into a small hole, but big enough for two, and hide."

"We knew that we would have to say something someday, Amanda. Let's get it over with."

"I love you, Lee."

"And I love you," Lee replied. Whenever he told her he loved her, his hazel eyes burned with desire and she found it increasingly difficult to deny his eyes.

As he leaned in to claim her lips as his own, the back door opened. 

" It's about time you two got up. Day off?" Dotty breezed in carrying a bouquet of fresh flowers. 

"Something came up at work and we took the rest of the day off. Mother, can we sit down?" Amanda's voice started wavering until she felt her husband squeeze her hand.

There was an awkward moment of silence as the trio sat sown in the breakfast nook with their coffee. Lee spoke first, "Mrs. West, this isn't what it seems......"

"Lee, dear, of course it was. I see the way you two look at each other. Despite the fact that I am an 'old' grandmother, I am not old and know what it is like to be in love."

"Mother, Lee is right. This isn't what it seems. We're married." Amanda said.

"Amanda, you don't have to justify sleeping with your boyfriend to me......"

"Mother! I am not justifying what you saw. We have been married since February."

"So, California..."

"Was our honeymoon." Lee finished.

Dotty was confused. Why would they keep this wonderful news a secret? Was Lee really who he said he was or was he some sort of fugitive? Why does a documentary director have to hide? "What is going on? Why not tell anyone? Amanda, why couldn't you tell me?" The tears were pooling in her eyes. Her emotions were mixed; happiness, hurt, anger and confusion swirled around in her heart. "Why?"

Amanda's heart was breaking. She had hurt someone she loved deeply. "Our jobs are very dangerous, Mother. Lee and I have made more than our share of enemies. Some might take advantage of our relationship to use you or Jamie or Philip to get to us. We thought we were doing the right thing, but now we're not so sure." 

"How can you make enemies making movies about worms and tractors?" Dotty was really confused now.

Amanda looked at Lee and he stepped in to explain. "IFF is not a real company, Mrs. West. It is a cover for an ultra secret government agency for which Amanda and I are operatives. Our work can be very dangerous and we, well mostly me, have made a lot of enemies in our careers. Enemies that would like to see me and almost every one I care about, dead. We thought that if no one knew that we are married, there would be less danger to everyone. The problem is that we didn't know how difficult it would be to hide our marriage. I love Amanda more than I ever thought possible. I also love her family. I love you all too much to put you in danger. Lately we have come to realize that we do our best work together. If we live together, we can protect everyone better. I swear that we were going to tell you soon, we were just looking for the least painful way to do it." Lee's eyes locked with Dotty's, begging forgiveness for causing her this anguish she felt.

"I need some time to think this over. I'll be upstairs, OK?" Dotty was really confused now. First Amanda tells her that they are married and then he tells his mother-in-law that they are spies. This was too much, just too much.

***

Dr. Austin Smyth looked at the picture he kept in the bottom drawer of his desk. She was the reason that the Agency has instituted the no fraternization rule. Her brutal death at the hands of the Chinese broke a young agent and he blew many cases as a result. He came out of the field and clawed his way up the administrative ladder until he was the head of the Agency. He put the picture of his wife and last partner back in the desk and wiped a tear from his cheek; angered and ashamed that the emotions he had worked so hard to kill didn't have the common courtesy to remain dead.

***

TBC....


	4. Chapter 4

Francine sifted through record after record. There had been many agents through the history of the Agency that had gotten married. Most had case records that improved after their marriage. Some were still with the Agency. Some had died in the line of duty; some left for other agencies or jobs in the private sector. Only one agent's case record had deteriorated after his marriage. Austin Smyth. Francine had almost choked on her coffee. Dr. Smyth married? As she read the file, she began to understand the man a little more. 

Austin and Charlene Smyth were partners before they married. After they had been married almost a year, they were given an assignment in Southeast Asia. Their informant betrayed them and the American agents were captured. He was forced to watch while they tortured her. Later that same night, Charlene lost consciousness in their cell. She never woke up. Her body was still there, in the grave that he dug for her at gunpoint. 

Her letter of resignation was ready and was going to be turned into Harry V. Thornton when they returned. When Smyth returned to the US alone, there was no point. The letter was filed away amongst their private papers. It had taken him a long time, but he convinced himself that he never wanted the baby she carried, and they had just found out about. He convinced himself that all children were to be avoided. Austin Smyth also lost much of his compassion and humanity. 

Smyth spent the next 25 years trying to avenge her death. He refused to work with a partner, preferring to work alone. When he began to blow assignments, he was given a choice: come in out of the field or resign. On the inside, he earned his PhD in International Relations and eventually became the Director. Partner fraternization prohibitions were put on the books shortly after the Smyth's last assignment. He had used them to keep Agents Stetson and Desmond from playing more than their cozy game of "backgammon". It was just as well, Stetson annoyed him. All Stetson had to do was smile and women fell over him. He was also a maverick; breaking the rules to suit his needs. What really got to Smyth was that Stetson's plans usually worked. Scarecrow reminded Smyth too much of himself as a younger man.

Then there was that King woman. As unconventional as her introduction into the Agency was, she had rapidly become a superb agent. Smyth knew that Scarecrow was infatuated with her from the start. As long as she remained civilian auxiliary, there was not much he could do. After the Stemwinder incident, he gave her agent status and began to enforce the rules that few had bothered to enforce before. As much as he was annoyed by Stetson and King, Smyth respected the two. They got results. But no one deserved the fate of Charlene and Austin Smyth. If he was disliked for his enforcement of the rules; so be it.

Francine gathered what she had learned, much by inference, and went to see Billy. Although it was six PM on a Friday night, Billy was still there. He listened intently to her information on Smyth and the information on one other couple, Matthew and Jennifer Stetson. Although not Agency, their records were impeccable and they were a good example of the positive aspects of partner fraternization. Billy hoped that he could change Smyth's mind with the Stetson's history alone, if not Billy had other means.

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Dinner at 4247 Maplewood Drive was quiet. Philip and Jamie had asked question after question and were easier to talk to than Dotty had been. Amanda knew that it had upset them that they hadn't known before now, but seemed OK with it. The boys seemed especially interested in their parent's jobs. Were they really spies, er, intelligence operatives? Yes. Could Lee move in? Yes. When? The questions went on and on until it was too late to make dinner, they even continued while waiting for the pizza to be delivered and up until bedtime. Even Dotty seemed to be more at ease and not as upset as she was earlier. At 9:30, Amanda sent their sons up to bed, their protests were not persuasive enough to allow them to stay up.

At around 10:00 Dotty excused herself to head to bed. She and Captain Kurt had a breakfast date and she needed to get up early. She kissed her daughter and then her son-in-law and said, "I love you both. Don't you ever pull something like this again!"

Amanda and Lee let out a sigh of relief, they had been forgiven.

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Philip and Jamie lay in bed talking softly. They knew that if their mother caught them they would get into trouble. 

"Philip, what do you think of their story?"

"OK, I guess. It is kinda weird to find out that Mom is married to her boyfriend. I mean he just started coming around about Thanksgiving, right? If they got married in February, well, they must have known each other for a long time. It's just weird."

"Yeah, Mom a spy..."

"Get to sleep fellas!" Amanda yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

They knew they had been caught. Philip turned off the lamp on the bedside table and then turned to his brother, "Goodnight, Dorkface."

Jamie threw his pillow at Philip. "Don't call me dorkface!"

A final warning, "BOYS.........."

There was finally silence from the boy's room.   


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TBC...


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